Actress Catherine Oxenberg, left, with Stanley Zareff and Toni Natalie, talks to the press following the arraignment of NXIVM leader Keith Raniere in federal court on Friday, April 13, 2018, in New York.Actress Catherine Oxenberg, left, with Stanley Zareff and Toni Natalie, talks to the press following the arraignment of NXIVM leader Keith Raniere in federal court on Friday, April 13, 2018, in New York. Oxenberg's daughter India has been named as a co-conspirator in a criminal complaint against cult leader Keith Raniere.

Actress Catherine Oxenberg departs with friend Stanley Zareff following the arraignment of NXIVM leader Keith Raniere in federal court on Friday, April 13, 2018, in New York. Oxenberg's daughter India has beenActress Catherine Oxenberg departs with friend Stanley Zareff following the arraignment of NXIVM leader Keith Raniere in federal court on Friday, April 13, 2018, in New York. Oxenberg's daughter India has been named as a co-conspirator in a criminal complaint against cult leader Keith Raniere.

FBI and state police take computers and other evidence from the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, theFBI and state police take computers and other evidence from the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, the co-founder of the NXIVM corporation has been arrested by the FBI based on a federal criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

FBI and state police take computers and other evidence from the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, theFBI and state police take computers and other evidence from the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, the co-founder of the NXIVM corporation has been arrested by the FBI based on a federal criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

An FBI sniffer dog is brought to the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, the co-founder of the NXIVMAn FBI sniffer dog is brought to the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, the co-founder of the NXIVM corporation has been arrested by the FBI based on a federal criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Photo: Elizabeth Williams

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In this courtroom sketch, Keith Raniere, second from right, leader of the secretive group NXIVM, attends a court hearing Friday, April 13, 2018, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. In March, federalIn this courtroom sketch, Keith Raniere, second from right, leader of the secretive group NXIVM, attends a court hearing Friday, April 13, 2018, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. In March, federal authorities raided a Halfmoon residence connected to the group and Raniere was later arrested in Mexico where the group also runs programs. Seated, from left, are defense attorney Paul DerOhannesian, a US marshal, Raniere and defense attorney Marc Agnifilo. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Photo: Photo Courtesy Frank Parlato/ArtVoice

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Keith Raniere is pictured following his arrest by Mexican federal authorities in March 2018. (Photo courtesy Frank Parlato/ArtVoice)

Photo: Albert L. Ortega

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A federal judge on April 24, 2018, agreed to release television actress Allison Mack on $5 million bond as she awaits trial in federal court on an indictment charging her and NXIVM founder Keith Raniere withA federal judge on April 24, 2018, agreed to release television actress Allison Mack on $5 million bond as she awaits trial in federal court on an indictment charging her and NXIVM founder Keith Raniere with sex trafficking and forced labor. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

Photo: Keith Raniere Conversations/YouTube

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NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and Allison Mack appear in a group of videos titled "Keith Raniere Conversations," that were published on YouTube on April 9, 2017. (Keith Raniere Conversations/YouTube)

Photo: Kevin Hagen

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Actress Catherine Oxenberg, left, arrives at federal court with Stanley Zareff and Toni Natalie, who is Keith Raniere's ex-girlfriend, for the arraignment of NXIVM leader Raniere on Friday, April 13, 2018, inActress Catherine Oxenberg, left, arrives at federal court with Stanley Zareff and Toni Natalie, who is Keith Raniere's ex-girlfriend, for the arraignment of NXIVM leader Raniere on Friday, April 13, 2018, in New York. Oxenberg's daughter India has been named as a co-conspirator in a criminal complaint against Raniere. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)

Sarah Edmondson shows the brand she received as part of a secret sorority ritual while part of the self-help group Nxivm, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 27, 2017. Edmondson, who has left theSarah Edmondson shows the brand she received as part of a secret sorority ritual while part of the self-help group Nxivm, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 27, 2017. Edmondson, who has left the group, and other former followers of Keith Raniere, the leader of the group, said they were focusing on recovering. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)

Photo: RUTH FREMSON

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Sarah Edmondson shows the brand she received as part of a secret sorority ritual while part of the self-help group Nxivm, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 27, 2017. Edmondson, who has left theSarah Edmondson shows the brand she received as part of a secret sorority ritual while part of the self-help group Nxivm, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 27, 2017. Edmondson, who has left the group, and other former followers of Keith Raniere, the leader of the group, said they were focusing on recovering. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)

FBI and state police take computers and other evidence from the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman, which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, theFBI and state police take computers and other evidence from the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman, which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, the co-founder of NXIVM, was arrested by the FBI based on a federal criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

FBI and state police take computers and other evidence from the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, theFBI and state police take computers and other evidence from the home of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman which was raided by federal agents on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, the co-founder of the NXIVM corporation has been arrested by the FBI based on a federal criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

There was no sign of activity at the NXIVM meeting place on Route 9 on Monday afternoon, March 26, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, the co-founder of the NXIVM corporation, was arrested by the FBI basedThere was no sign of activity at the NXIVM meeting place on Route 9 on Monday afternoon, March 26, 2018, in Halfmoon, N.Y. Keith Raniere, the co-founder of the NXIVM corporation, was arrested by the FBI based on a federal criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Photo: Philip Kamrass

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Keith Raniere, right, the founder of NXIVM, meets the Dalai Lama at the Palace Theatre in 2009. Raniere has been accused by a former NXIVM insider of directing financial probes of federal judges and a U.S.Keith Raniere, right, the founder of NXIVM, meets the Dalai Lama at the Palace Theatre in 2009. Raniere has been accused by a former NXIVM insider of directing financial probes of federal judges and a U.S. senator, among others. (Philip Kamrass/Times Union archive)

The offices of NXIVM in at 455 New Karner Road in Colonie, New York June 16, 2010. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

Photo: Provided

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Nancy Salzman (Provided)

Photo: John Carl D'Annibale

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Sara Bronfman at a news conference to discuss the schedule of events for the Dalai Lama's upcoming visit to Albany at a news conference Tuesday morning March 17, 2009, at the Times Union Center. (John CarlSara Bronfman at a news conference to discuss the schedule of events for the Dalai Lama's upcoming visit to Albany at a news conference Tuesday morning March 17, 2009, at the Times Union Center. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Photo: Provided

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Kristin Keeffe (provided)

Photo: Provided

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Cult expert Rick Ross (provided)

Photo: MEGAN MUMFORD

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Barbara Bouchey, former NXIVM executive board member and girlfriend of Raniere, has been relentlessly attacked with ligitation from NXIVM after her departure, she says. (provided)

Photo: Provided

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Toni Natalie, a former girlfriend of Keith Raniere. (provided)

Photo: Provided

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Susan Dones, a former NXIVM trainer and Tacoma, Wash., center operator, who quit the company in 2009 and was sued by NXIVM. (provided)

Photo: Ron Paul website

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Kim Woolhouse, a former NXIVM trainer and operator of a center in Tacoma, Wash., who was sued by NXIVM after leaving in 2009. (provided)

Photo: Provided

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Kristin Snyder is believed to have committed suicide in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2003 after taking an Executive Success Programs class from the Colonie, N.Y., based NXIVM group. (provided)

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Robert and Johnnie Snyder hold a photo of their daughter Kristin, at their home in Dillon, S.C. Kristin Snyder is believed to have committed suicide after taking an Executive Success Programs class in 2003. (APRobert and Johnnie Snyder hold a photo of their daughter Kristin, at their home in Dillon, S.C. Kristin Snyder is believed to have committed suicide after taking an Executive Success Programs class in 2003. (AP Photo / Willis Glassgow)

Photo: Provided

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Colleagues at Consumers' Buyline and at NXIVM, Keith Raniere and long-time girlfriend Pam Cafritz in the early 1990s.

Photo: Provided

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Keith Raniere in the mid-1990s. (Provided)

Photo: Provided

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Keith Raniere in the early 1990s. (Provided)

Photo: Provided

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Keith Raniere in the early 1990s at Pyramid Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. (Provided)

Photo: Times Union

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Keith Raniere, summer 2011, Halfmoon. (Times Union staff photo)

Federal prosecutors said NXIVM founder Keith Raniere's "decades' long history of abusing women and girls" is among the reasons he should remain in custody without bond while his criminal case is pending.

The U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn filed a letter in federal District Court late Thursday outlining multiple reasons that they said Raniere is a danger to the community and poses a high risk of fleeing if he is released on bond.

"The defendant has a decades' long history of abusing women and girls," wrote assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Kim Penza. "According to confidential sources, the defendant had repeated sexual encounters with multiple teenage girls in the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s. In one instance, the defendant met a fifteen-year-old girl while he was in his 20s and had repeated sexual contact with her."

The allegations of Raniere's alleged sexual contact with underage girls was first reported by the Times Union in a 2012 series on the secretive organization and its controversial leader.

Prosecutors this week indicated they had affirmed the information.

"In another instance, the defendant met a twelve-year-old girl whose mother worked for the defendant and began tutoring her," Penza wrote. "Shortly thereafter, the defendant began having regular sexual intercourse with her, including at his home where he lived with multiple adult sexual partners. One of those partners hired the girl to walk her dog, giving the defendant daily access to the girl."

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Prosecutors said that Raniere also has told his followers that the age of consent is "too rigid and that it should be lowered to when a child’s parent says the child is capable of consent."

The letter was filed by federal prosecutors in advance of Raniere's appearance Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor. He has been held in custody since he was deported from Mexico on March 25 and taken into custody by federal law enforcement officials in Texas.

There was no bail hearing but a magistrate judge who arraigned Raniere on the federal criminal charges ordered that he remain in the custody of U.S. marshals. The judge scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for April 27.

The FBI in New York City issued a statement Friday asking "possible victims or anyone with information related to Keith Raniere to please contact us at 212-384-1000."

The Times Union reported on Thursday that FBI agents seized more than $520,000 in cash when they raided the Saratoga County residence of NXIVM President Nancy Salzman last month as part of a widening investigation of NXIVM's business dealings.

FBI affidavits filed in support of the search warrant application — which was unsealed by a judge at the request of the Times Union — also confirmed that Allison Mack, a television actress who has been part of Raniere's inner circle in NXIVM for many years, was an alleged co-conspirator with Raniere in his efforts to recruit women into a secret slave-master club.

The records say Mack helped recruit women into the club and made them pose for nude photographs that she would forward to Raniere. She also delivered some of the women to Raniere for sexual encounters, and at least one alleged victim described the sex as unwanted.

Penza urged the federal magistrate judge to keep Raniere locked up.

"The defendant is charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor in a scheme involving over fifty female slaves he directed others to recruit on his behalf. He is charged with trafficking these women through coercion and manipulation, tactics that he has used before," she wrote. "After law enforcement began interviewing witnesses about the defendant’s criminal conduct, he fled to Mexico where he was apprehended only after a month-and-a-half of active searching."

Raniere was arrested by Mexican federal police at a luxury villa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He was with several female devotees, including Mack, when Mexican federal police took him into custody and deported him to the United States, where he was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor.

The federal complaint alleges that Raniere, organized the secret group within NXIVM in which women said they were coerced into joining a slave-master club and later branded with a design that included the initials of Raniere and Mack.

Raniere, in statements previously posted on NXIVM's website, had characterized the slave-master group as a consenting, private "sorority" and said that he and the corporation had no role in it.

But federal court records indicate emails seized from Raniere's private messaging accounts "support the conclusion that Raniere created" the club, which was known as "Dominus Obsequious Sororium," which means "Master Over the Slave Women."

Prosecutors, in arguing for Raniere to remain in custody, also recounted information about a young Mexican woman who was locked in a Halfmoon residence against her will for more than a year as punishment handed out by Raniere. They said Raniere kept the woman, who was in her 20s, locked up because she had developed personal feelings for someone other than Raniere.

"During her approximately 18-month confinement, with limited exceptions, the woman had extremely limited contact with her family or other members of the community and she received limited medical attention," federal authorities said. "Her period of confinement was repeatedly extended for other supposed ethical breaches, including, in one instance, because she cut her hair. The woman felt she could not leave because of the repercussions on her family and also because she was illegally in the United States and the defendant and other members of Nxivm had helped her illegally enter."

The federal search warrant records disclose the support that Raniere has received from Clare W. Bronfman, an heiress of the Seagram Co. business empire who has described herself as the operations director of NXIVM. The records indicate Bronfman assisted Raniere in sending threatening letters purported to be from a Mexican attorney to women who had defected from the secret club or criticized NXIVM.

Raniere fled to Mexico last fall with Bronfman, a member of NXIVM's executive board who has supplied Raniere with access to millions of dollars and private jets, the records indicate.

"Prior to this trip, Raniere had not flown out of the country since 2015, when he visited the heiress' private island in Fiji," according to the FBI.

Raniere's appearance in federal court comes as NXIVM's worldwide operations are foundering. Leaders of the Mexican counterpart to a NXIVM corporation, Executive Success Programs, announced this week they were giving up their control of the organization. NXIVM at one time had thousands of clients and followers in Mexico.